What is a VET Student Loan?

BSI Learning (BSIL) is an approved provider of VET Student Loans and can offer the Commonwealth VET Student Loans scheme to eligible students for approved training through to 31stDecember 2018. Students enrolled in

Diploma of Leadership Management BSB51915

Diploma of Project Management BSB51415

Diploma of Business BSB50215

can access VET Student Loans to pay their tuition fees provided they meet the eligibility requirements.

What is a VET Student Loan?

VET Student Loans is a loan from the Commonwealth Government, available to assist eligible students studying any of our Diploma courses to pay their tuition fees. You do not have to use a VET Student loan to pay your tuition fees.

You can choose to pay all your tuition fees, or you can use a VET Student loan for the total or partial amount of your tuition fees (eligibility criteria apply). From 1 January 2017, VET Student Loans commenced replacing the VET FEE‑HELP for all new students. The student loans program gives eligible students access to quality higher level VET qualifications, particularly those students who could not otherwise afford to pay upfront.

The loan remains as a personal debt obligation until it is repaid to the Commonwealth;

The loan may affect (by reducing) the person’s take-home (after tax) wage or salary until the debt is repaid, and may affect the borrowing capacity of the person until the debt is repaid to the Commonwealth;

A VET Student Loan gives rise to a HELP debt that continues to be a debt due to the Commonwealth until it is repaid;

The completed Request for VET Student Loan ECAF form applies to a loan for the entire VET course of study, charged on a unit of study basis, unless the student pays some of the tuition fees;

Census dates will apply to each VET units of study in which the person enrols, with the student taking out a loan for any tuition fees that remain unpaid at the end of each census date;

A student may cancel their enrolment by withdrawing from each VET unit of study on or before the census date; and in accordance with BSI Learning’s withdrawal processes.

Withdrawal will result in the student not incurring a VET Student Loan debt; and / or receiving a refund for any up-front tuition fee payments made on or before the census dates;

A student may wish to seek independent financial advice prior to applying for a VET Student Loan;

From 1stJuly 2017, the student will be required to confirm (in the Departments of Education and Training’s dedicated system) their continued engagement in the course of study.

The student’s ongoing access to a VET Student Loan is dependent upon the student demonstrating that they are still engaged in and progressing through the following courses with BSIL:

- Diploma of Leadership and Management BSB51915- Diploma of Project Management BSB51415- Diploma of Business BSB50215

In 2017, the VET Student Loan limit is $100,879 for most students. The FEE-HELP limit is a lifetime limit and is not reset or ‘topped up’ by any repayments that you make.

How much are the Courses on offer from BSI Learning?

Diploma of Leadership and Management BSB51915

$5000.00

Diploma of Project Management BSB51415

$5000.00

Diploma of Business BSB50215

$5000.00

BSI Learning’s maximum loan amount for the

Diploma of Leadership and Management BSB51915

$5000.00

Diploma of Project Management BSB51415

$5000.00

Diploma of Business BSB50215

$5000.00

The VET Student Loan is sufficient to cover all the tuition fees for the course. However, the amount of the VET student loan with BSIL cannot be more than the student’s remaining FEE-HELP balance.

This is a balance you may already owe if you have studied before and loaned money from the Commonwealth. Any gap fees must be paid by the student. Refer to your Statement of Fees and Invoice Notice for further details. Students will be invoiced for any gap fees.

Is there a loan fee?

A 20% loan fee applies to VET Student Loans for full fee paying / fee for service students. The loan fee does not count towards your FEE-HELP limit. You do not have to pay the loan fee upfront – it is reported by your provider and is added to your HELP debt at the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

What is a census date and when are they scheduled?

A census date is defined as: A date by which enrolment may be cancelled without incurring tuition fees for the course or a part of the course is a census day. The census date is the most important date for you to remember for each unit of study in the

Diploma of Leadership and Management BSB51915

Diploma of Project Management BSB51415

Diploma of Business BSB50215

The census date is the last day you can submit your Request for VET Student LoanECAF form and withdraw your enrolment in the course or part of the course without incurring the cost or VET Student Loan debt. Students will receive a refund of any tuition fees already paid for the course or part of the course if they withdraw on or prior to the census date. To view your census dates please go to our website and find the course you are enrolling in on the courses page. The Census dates are published there. To withdraw your enrolment or to withdraw from VET Student Loans, you must complete and submit a BSI Learning Student Withdrawal Form. This is situated on our website within the resources page.

What is a VET unit of study and course of study?

A VET unit of study is one or more units of competency. VET units of study make up the course of study for the

Diploma of Leadership and Management BSB51915

Diploma of Project Management BSB51415

Diploma of Business BSB50215

Each VET unit of study will be across a specified number of fee periods and each fee period will contain a census date.

When do I start paying back the loan?

Your VET Student Loan debt becomes part of your accumulated HELP debt. The compulsory repayment threshold is adjusted each year. The compulsory repayment threshold for the 2016-2017 income year is $54,869. The compulsory repayment threshold for the 2017-2018 income year is $55,874 Repayment income is calculated from the amounts given on your income tax return for:

your taxable income;

reportable fringe benefits (reported on your payment summary);

total net investment loss (which includes net rental loss);

reportable super contributions; and

exempt foreign employment income amounts.

Repayments made through the Australian taxation system are called compulsory repayments and continue until you have repaid your whole debt.

2016-17 Repayment Threshold

Repayment % Rate

2017-18 Repayment Threshold

Repayment % Rate

Below $54,869

Nill

Below $55,874

Nill

$54,869 – $61,119

4.0%

$55,874 – $62,238

4.0%

$61,120 – $67,368

4.5%

$62,239 – $68,602

4.5%

$67,369 – $70,909

5.0%

$68,603 – $72,207

5.0%

$70,910 – $76,222

5.5%

$72,208 – $77,618

5.5%

$76,223 – $82,550

6.0%

$77,619 – $84,062

6.0%

$82,551 – $86,894

6.5%

$84,063 – $88,486

6.5%

$86,895 – $95,626

7.0%

$88,487 – $97,377

7.0%

$95,627 – $101,899

7.5%

$97,378 – $103,765

7.5%

$101,900 and above

8.0%

$103,766 and above

8.0%

How much will my repayments be?

The amount you repay each year is a percentage of your income. The percentage increases as your income increases, so the more you earn, the higher your repayment will be. The ATO will calculate your compulsory repayment for the year and include it on your income tax notice of assessment.

Am I eligible for VET Student Loan with BSI Learning?

For eligibility requirements please refer to the 2017 VET Student Loans Information Booklet. Your eligibility will be assessed as part of the BSI Learning Course Application Form. Eligibility evidence and supporting documents must be presented to BSI Learning with your application. A VET Student Loan will not be approved by BSI Learning for any students who do not meet eligibility requirements.

How do I apply for a VET Student Loan?

To apply for VET Student Loan for the

Diploma of Leadership and Management BSB51915

Diploma of Project Management BSB51415

Diploma of Business BSB50215

with BSI Learning, please complete the electronic Course Application on our courses page, alternatively download and print a hard copy, downloadable from our Website on our resources page and send to our VSL enrolment team at, BSI Learning Level 7 Martin Place, Sydney CBD NSW 2000 To apply for a VET Student Loan, you must complete the Request for a VET Student Loan eCAF by the census date. A student must first enrol into the

Diploma of Leadership and Management BSB51915

Diploma of Project Management BSB51415

Diploma of Business BSB50215

qualification and BSI Learning will then give the Department your enrolment information, including the nearest applicable census date, through the electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form (eCAF) system. The student will then receive an email from the department allowing them to sign into the eCAF system. Students must verify the information and complete the mandatory fields before submitting the form. Students under the age of 18 applying for VET Student Loans must have returned to BSI Learning a completed parental consent form signed by a responsible parent or guardian before their data can be enrolled into the eCAF system for the student. The VET Student Loans scheme has a cooling off period of two business days between when the student enrols in a course and when they can submit their eCAF for that course. The waiting period is two business days after enrolment. Retrospective access to VET Student Loans is not allowed under any circumstances. Further information on applying for a VET Student Loan is available at https://www.education.gov.au/vet-student-loans or http://studyassist.gov.au/sites/StudyAssist/

Where to after my Course Application Form?

If your Course Application Form is approved by the BSI Learning RTO Manager, and you have successfully enrolled into the

Diploma of Leadership and Management BSB51915

Diploma of Project Management BSB51415

Diploma of Business BSB50215

a two day (business days) cooling off period applies before you can apply for VET Student Loan. Students under the age of 18 will require their parent or guardian to sign a Request for VET Student LoanECAF form to apply for VET Student Loans. On successful completion of the VET Student Loans enrolment process you will be issued with a welcome letter and a unique student identifier number. BSI Learning will also issue you with your VET Student Loan Fee Notice, no less than 14 days before the census date. This is so you know exactly how much debt you have before the census date so you can have enough time to withdraw from the course before the census date, should you want to, without incurring a VET Student Loans After each census date you will also receive a Commonwealth Assistance Notice (CAN) for each unit of study with a census date within 28 days of the relevant census date. The Commonwealth Assistance Notice is a statement, not an invoice or a request for payment and includes important information about your enrolment. This will confirm your debt you have incurred or student contribution amounts you have paid, and any loan fee you may have incurred. Students will receive communication electronically via their personal email address provided to BSI Learning upon enrolment into the course.

Does BSI Learning have Tuition Assurance?

As an approved provider under the VET Student Loans Act 2016, BSI Learning Institute Pty Limited (trading as BSI Learning) has an approved (interim) exemption in place for Tuition Assurance. BSIL’s Statement of Tuition Assurance for VSL can be found in the Student Resources section of the website.

Since organisations in the top tier of financial performance have more women in leadership roles, why does gender inequality still exist in leadership?

After reading the research undertaken by DDI Worldwide regarding diversity and gender inequality I was very keen to learn more about why this underrepresentation exists. Therefore I decided, with one of our directors, to sponsor the American Chamber of Commerce Women in Leadership Executive Tutorial to learn more about gender inequality in leadership.